Ven Guojun, Master Shengyen's youngest dharma heir, will be giving a free 2-hr public talk on Chan Buddhism on November 7th, 2012, 7pm-9pm, at Manhattan's New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Auditorium, on Broadway and between 61st and 62nd St.

After receiving Dharma transmission (伝法) and verification of attainment (印可) from Master Shengyen in the Linji (临济) and Caodong (曹洞) traditions in 2005, Ven Guo Jun served as the Abbot of Dharma Drum Retreat Center (Pine Bush, NY) for 3 years.

In 2009, Ven Guo Jun also received transmission and obtained verification in the Xianshou (贤首, also known as Huayan 華嚴 or Avatamsaka) and Ci-en (慈恩, Xuanzang's transmission of Chinese Yogacara) lineages of Chinese Buddhism from Master Qinyin of Fuhui Monastery (Taipei, Taiwan).

The Nature of the World (Samsāra)The Nature of Enlightenment (Nirvāṇa)What Chan practice is (Mārga)Bringing Chan to life (Phāla)

If you believe certain words, you believe their hidden arguments. When you believe something is right or wrong, true of false, you believe the assumptions in the words which express the arguments. Such assumptions are often full of holes, but remain most precious to the convinced.

Astus wrote:I wonder what kind of transmission is there in Huayan and Faxiang...

Actually I am not sure. I think it is just lineage transmission, in that one is qualified as a teacher for those lineages? Being that these were established schools way back then, there ought be some sort of institutional process for transmitting teachings.

If you believe certain words, you believe their hidden arguments. When you believe something is right or wrong, true of false, you believe the assumptions in the words which express the arguments. Such assumptions are often full of holes, but remain most precious to the convinced.

Astus wrote:I doubt that there is any lineage from the Tang dynasty or from as late as the Qing. Even in Chan they had to reinvent the lineage several times and fill in the gaps of missing generations.

I can't say for sure if that is the case. China is a huge country and at least for Chan, being that the transmission of lineage holders are not one-to-one, but rather one-to-many, it is unlikely that once successful lineages would die out completely.

I have a lot of reading to catch up on Chan - do you have any recommendations on good books that studies this case of lineage transmission?

If you believe certain words, you believe their hidden arguments. When you believe something is right or wrong, true of false, you believe the assumptions in the words which express the arguments. Such assumptions are often full of holes, but remain most precious to the convinced.

*John R. McRae: Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan BuddhismAlbert Welter: Monks, Rulers, and Literati: The Political Ascendancy of Chan BuddhismJohn R. McRae: The Northern School and the formation of early Chʻan BuddhismWendi Leigh Adamek: The Mystique of Transmission: On an Early Chan History and Its Contexts*Morten Schlütter: How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute Over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty ChinaElizabeth A. Morrison: The Power of Patriarchs: Qisong and Lineage in Chinese Buddhism*Jiang Wu: Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China

And two extras not strictly on lineage:

Robert H. Sharf: Coming to Terms With Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store TreatiseAlbert Welter: The Linji Lu and the Creation of Chan Orthodoxy: The Development of Chan's Records of Sayings Literature

"There is no such thing as the real mind. Ridding yourself of delusion: that's the real mind."(Sheng-yen: Getting the Buddha Mind, p 73)

*John R. McRae: Seeing through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan BuddhismAlbert Welter: Monks, Rulers, and Literati: The Political Ascendancy of Chan BuddhismJohn R. McRae: The Northern School and the formation of early Chʻan BuddhismWendi Leigh Adamek: The Mystique of Transmission: On an Early Chan History and Its Contexts*Morten Schlütter: How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute Over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty ChinaElizabeth A. Morrison: The Power of Patriarchs: Qisong and Lineage in Chinese Buddhism*Jiang Wu: Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China

And two extras not strictly on lineage:

Robert H. Sharf: Coming to Terms With Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store TreatiseAlbert Welter: The Linji Lu and the Creation of Chan Orthodoxy: The Development of Chan's Records of Sayings Literature

Read parts of McRae's The Northern School and the formation of early Chʻan Buddhism and going through it again. Excellent read, especially the part about Hungjen's Xiuxinyaolun.

If you believe certain words, you believe their hidden arguments. When you believe something is right or wrong, true of false, you believe the assumptions in the words which express the arguments. Such assumptions are often full of holes, but remain most precious to the convinced.